The number of GCSE exams should be reduced significantly in order to save the fragile minds of young students: pressure on the shoulders of teenagers to revise and do well in exams is incredibly stressful and can lead to eating disorders, self-harm and suicidal tendencies.

Thousands of pressurised students, who are not fully ready to take an exam, must prove what they have learned to faceless examiners. Those who fail are left to shrivel in the world, only to be taunted for not meeting perverted expectations.

From current experiences of my own, exams deteriorate us and oppress our lives. They distort our everyday routine into a never ending cycle of revising and reiterating for an exam. This pressure, put on still developing teenage minds, gives the student one choice under the stress leading to the examination. If you do well, you are fine. But with the ever-changing mark scheme it’s increasingly difficult to succeed. Students who fail may completely lose their self-confidence, feeling like they ruined their one last chance to shine. It’s soul-destroying, as well as exhausting, having to prepare for an examination when the end result may seem almost fatal.

The compulsion from our teachers and parents to do well in our exams can be seen as a form of brainwashing. Students are harassed by the amount of homework, coursework and assessments that they have. The load is relentless.

Coercing stressed pupils to do well at exams is putting their mental health at risk. Specialists say eating disorders, self-harm and even suicidal tendencies are some of the consequences as pupils struggle to cope with the enormous need to succeed. This is why I passionately feel exams should be reduced: many teenagers just can’t cope with the workload. Dr Deema Sihweil (clinical psychologist) has said, “Students are experiencing more levels of stress, anxiety, depression, fear, hopelessness and rage than ever. Exam time can be painful for so many”. Teenagers want to do well for themselves, but at the same time feel the need to assuage the aspirations of those around them.

We need to ask ourselves what skills these exams are teaching us. How will regurgitating facts and figures help teenagers get a job in the real world? Instead of these useless skills, we need to be focusing on abilities such as practical skills, debating skills and advanced coding to cope with the digital world we inhabit now. London is a key part of the digital economy which means we need to adapt what we teach our students. For example, in Germany they teach a range of digital vocational skills and they have one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in the world.

Students do not have the same mind-set as adults. Some are coping with exam anxiety by skipping meals and drinking alcohol. Suzie Hayman  (spokesperson for Family Lives) has said that exams can cause conflict in families and crises of confidence in young people. Teenagers’ confidence drops when they feel they are not getting any support from those around them or they feel failure is on the horizon.

In 2010 and 2011, a children’s mental health group received 6,332 calls to its helpline. Of these, 884 calls were from young people aged 16 and 17; 39% were about exam stress. This shows that teenagers are struggling to come to terms with pressure about the whole situation. Parents are suffering too when they are made aware that their kids are struggling psychologically.

Overall, in my opinion, exams should be reduced as teenagers are literally killing themselves to relieve the pressure. Parents are left to suffer the consequences of the unfortunate death.

The Government should reduce the amount of exams students have to face in order to keep them satisfied. I do understand that pressurised assessments are part of life and we need to prepare students for it, but at this point in time it has gone too far. One alternative to exams is e-portfolios – this way students are not pressured to do well. E-portfolios are one way to help. They are ideal for supporting coursework and end-of-course assessments. This way, a student’s work can be assessed, graded and given feedback. This doesn’t put pressure on them as they can research in depth, polish and improve their work over a period of time. Teenagers can work at their own speed, making it a relaxing and meaningful experience.

In conclusion, I feel reducing exams will bring much relief for teenagers. The mental health issues are the most dangerous ones. Society needs to give teenagers the best possible chance of success in unprecedentedly difficult and challenging times.